Device for assembling batches of cigarettes for packing



W. J- KEMP Dec. 1.6, 1952 DEVICE. FOR ASSEMBLING BATCi-IES OF CIGARETTES FOR PACKING Filed Jan. 12, 1950 2 SHEETS SHEET l uvVi/V FOR B rm Dec. 16, 1952 P 2,621,840

DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING BATCHES OF CIGARETTES FOR PACKING Filed Jan. 12, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 I W/I/I/I/I/z Patented Dec. 16, 1952 DEVICE FOR, ASSEMBLING BATCHES OF CIGARETTES FOR PACKING William Joseph Kemp, Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molins M'achineCompany Limited, London, England, a British company Application January 12, 1950, Serial No. 138,177

' In GreatBritain January 26, 1949 2 Claims.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to devices for assembling batches of cigarettes for packing and more particularly to a device for assemblin a batch of three rows of cigarettes in which the middle row contains one cigarette less than the other rows. The commonest example of such a batch is one comprising twenty cigarettes in three rows of seven, six and seven cigarettes respectively. The middle row of six cigarettes is disposed symmetrically-about the central axis of the batch so that the cigarettes nest in the hollows between the cigarettes of the other rows and a tight batchwhose-height is less than three cigarette diameters is obtained.

The arrangement of twenty cigarettes in this manneris usually achieved by feeding eighteen cigarettes in six columns of three superimposed cigarettesv each and a. furtherv column of two cigarettes, which eventually. constitute. part of the top and bottom rows, and shifting the middle row of six across the batch so that the cigarettes of said row nest between the cigarettes of the top and bottom rows.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved device for assembling such a batch of three rows in nested formationvwith, a view to controlling the cigarettes atallstagesofthe.operation and positively guidingthem into thepde:

sired I formation.

Accordingto the invention there is provided. a device for assemblin a batch of threerows of cigarettes, the middle row whereof has one cigthe group, means. for supporting said further cigarettes so that the top surface of the upper one is substantially at the same height above the surface as the top surface of the finished nested batch, a pusher for conveyin all the cigarettes fed to the surface through guides wherein they are gathered in laterally, a recess in one guide into Whichthe lower of said further cigarettes can move as the middle row of the group is shifted laterally by a rib on the other guide, the supporting means for said further cigarettes termi nating substantially at theend of saidrecess which leads to a further recess which slopes downwards and leads. the. said lower. cigarette down to said surface while further lateral move-- ment of the middle row of the group due to. the,

shape of the rib causesthe cigarette. of that row which is nearest to the recessto move beneath the upper of the said further cigarettesand supe port-it.

The invention will be more fully described with reference to the accompanyin drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a small part of a.

cigarette packing machine embodying. the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of Figurehl on the line II-II.

Figures 3 to 6 are cross sections of, Figure 1 on the lines III-III; IVIV; VV; and VI.-VI respectively.

Referring to the drawings, the cigarettes represented by circles are fed from a hopper (not shown) through slots l to 1 formed by partitions 8 to [.3 at the baseof the hopper and down to the surface of va machine bed I l. Pusher pieces [5 on an endless conveyor I6 move along the bed and pass at intervals through the space at the base of the partitions and remove a batch of,

cigarettes at each passage. The four partitions 9 to l2 which enclose the three cigarettes at the middle of a row of seven extend down to about two-thirds of a cigarette diameter from the bed while the next partition, 8 and I3 respectively, at each side, which separates the outer cigarette of the row from the cigarette next toit, terminates at about the height of the batch from the bed. Movable pressers IT and I8 referred to later move in and out through slots in fixed outer walls 21 i the slot 1, which is at one side of the device, only two cigarettes are removed. With cigarettes or 8 mm. diameter the height of the batch when beneath the hopper is substantially 24 mm. although this dimension maybe reduced a little as the slots are rather wider than a cigarette and the two cigarettes whichare removed from the slot I are so disposed that the centre of the lower one is about 10 mm. above the bed and the other cigarette is vertically above it. This a1,- rangement brings the upper surface of thetop cigarette of the two approximately on the levelwhich the whole top row assumes when the twen tycigarettes are nested and ready for packing To secure this disposition of the said two cigarettes a thin platform I9 is fixed at a suitable distance above the bed and projecting into the slot I a suflicient distance to afford adequate support for the cigarettes and locate them in position.

For the sake of easy feeding the slots are wider than the cigarette diameter and the batch is thus wider than it will be when packed, so prior to removal from beneath the slots the batch is gathered in by the movable side pressers H and [8 until the cigarettes in the outer two slots or double-slots |-2 and 6-! are in contact. A pusher then moves the batch along the bed between side guides 20 and 2! which are parallel for a short distance along the part marked A in Figure 1 and then converge for a little at the part marked B, whereafter they are substantially parallel along the part marked C. On the side where the two cigarettes are located, the guide 2| is provided with a concave recess 22, whose radius is substantially that of a cigarette, just at the beginning of the second parallel part of the guide channel and about 72 mm. long. The first part of the recess tapers from the surface of the guide to about 2 mm. deep (i. e. from the face of the guide) or more accurately onehalf of the distance the middle row is to be moved over to effect the nesting of said row, so that the movement of a cigarette (as explained later) is gradual. The above mentioned thin platform [9 extends about as far as the end of the concave recess and the cigarette contacting with said platform is the one which moves into the recess which is disposed at such a level that its centre line is approximate y on the same plane as the centre line of said cigarette viz mm. above the bed surface, see Figure 4. Beyond this recess the guide 2| is cut away at 23 to form a recess which is deeper than the concave recess and parallel to the face of the guide. The beginning of this second recess into which the cigarette moves in due course, as explained later, extends from the bed level to a position about 3 mm. above the top of the concave recess, see Figure 2, from which height the top of the recess slopes down towards the bed, terminating at a position 8 mm. above said level and being about 150 mm. long, this length giving a substantial angle to the top of the recess for guiding the cigarette entering the recess down to the bed level. The depth of the recess is about 4 mm. (i. e. from the face of the guide) or more exactly, the distance the middle row of cigarettes is to be moved over. Above the recess 23 the guide 2! is shaped to provide a rib The other guide is provided with a rib 25 2 mm. thick (i. e. it projects 2 mm. from the face of the guide) extending to a position about halfway along the length of the above-mentioned second recess whereafter it slopes for a short distance towards the other guide and thereafter continues as a rib 4 mm. thick (1. e. projecting 4 mm. from the face of the guide) parallel to the guide for the remaining length thereof, see Figure 1. The rib at its full 2 mm. thickness commences at the beginning of the second parallel part C of the guide channel and backwards from said full 2 mm. thickness it slopes away towards the hopper, merging into the surface of the guide in the converging part B of the guide channel. The rib is so located that its upper surface is about level with the lower face of the cigarettes in the top row when the twenty cigarettes are in nested formation and ready for packing. The depth of 4 the rib that is the dimension as measured from the bed surface is of no consequence as its upper surface is the important one. It can conveniently be 2 or 3 mm. deep.

In operation, cigarettes pass down the hopper slots and assemble on the bed disposed as above described whereafter they are closed in slightly by the side presser I! and I8. A pusher on the conveyor then moves a batch of three rows along the bed the two cigarettes at one side being superimposed and riding along the thin platform I9. As the guides converge, the rib 25 on the guide 20 presses the middle row across the batch and the lower cigarette of the two aforesaid moves partly into the concave recess 22 to permit the movement of the middle row. As the batch passes the end of the concave recess the lower cigarette of the said two cigarettes moves into the second recess 23 and is directed downwards towards the bed level by the sloping roof of the recess. When this cigarette reaches bed level it forms part of the lowest row and the formation of the batch is almost complete and thereafter the rib on the other guide which at this position is of its full 4 mm. thickness completes the lateral movement of the middle row so that the rest of the cigarettes in the top row fall slightly as the cigarettes nest and come down to the level of the upper cigarette of the aforesaid two cigarettes. The upper cigarette of the said two is supported during these movements as first Wholly, and later on partly, by the one beneath it and as the support of the latter becomes less effective the end cigarette of the middle row begins to afford more effective support as the row moves over. But in order to ensure that the cigarette does not become displaced from its proper position the rib 24 is provided and helps to support the cigarette in the manner shown in Figure 5. In due course the batch is properly assembled as the lowest cigarette of the said two cigarettes moves out of the second recess and engages the flat face of the guide 20, again so that the width of the bottom row is the same as that of the top row and the middle row is properly nested between the two rows.

At a position about half-way along the concave groove the cigarettes may be tested by a detector to see if a full complement is present as at that position the top row is disposed in or substantially in its final position and if a cigarette is missing from a batch there will be a space in said top row. Such detectors are very well known and the detector is only illustrated diagrammatically. Seven detector fingers 26 are pivoted as shown so that they are supported by the cigarettes. If a cigarette is missing a finger turns on its pivot and operates an electrical device to make a signal.

In this way assembly and nesting of the batch is effected with the cigarettes under control the whole time. The lower cigarette is controlled in its movement by the platform and the two recesses in the neighbouring guide, together with pressure from the neighbouring cigarette of the middle row, and as said lower cigarette sinks to bed level the middle row moves over so as to take up the support of the upper cigarette of the two and in combination with the rib 24 maintains it in its proper position.

Above the channel formed by the guides 20 and 2| are plates 29 and 30 to cover the cigarettes. These are shown in chain lines in Figure 2 and omitted from Figures 4 and 5 as they tend to confuse the drawing.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for assembling a batch of three rows of cigarettes, the middle row whereof has one cigarette less than the other rows, in nested formation, comprising a bed having a supporting surface, means for feeding cigarettes onto said surface as a loose batch comprising a group of three rows with an equal number of cigarettes in each row and two further cigarettes, one resting on the other, at one side of the group, means for supporting said further cigarettes so that the upper of the two further cigarettes is substantially at the same height above said surface as the top row of the finished nested batch, a pair of guides, a pusher for conveying all the cigarettes fed to said surface endwise through said pair of guides, wherein the cigarettes are gathered in laterally, one of said guides having a recess, and a rib on the other guide whereby the middle row of the group is shifted laterally, during which movement the lower of said further cigarettes can move into said recess, the supporting means for said further cigarettes terminating substantially at the end of said recess, said recessed guide having another recess leading from the first recess, said last named recess sloping downward and 6 leading the said lower cigarette down to said surface, said rib being so shaped as to effect further lateral movement of the middle row of the group, thereby causing the cigarette of that row which is nearest to said last named recess to move beneath the upper or the said further cigarettes and support it.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising a rib on the recessed guide beyond said supporting means to assist in supporting the upper of said further cigarettes as the lower of said further cigarettes is led down to said surface.

WILLIAM JOSEPH KEMP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,868,583 Arstrom July 26, 1932 1,961,047 Horgan May 29, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 298,315 Great Britain Oct. 11, 1928 370,684 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1932 

